Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Post Office: North Cornwall

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much of the £2 billion investment in the Post Office network has been spent in North Cornwall.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010. While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Any allocation of funding to specific branches and regions is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Alisdair Cameron, the Group interim Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to my hon Friend on this matter. A copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Working Hours

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much time off in lieu has been taken by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.

Christopher Pincher: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office does not hold this information because time-off-in-lieu (TOIL) is not recorded centrally and is managed by individual teams, particularly overseas.

Hong Kong: Police

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) training, (b) capacity building and (c) assistance (i) the UK Government and (ii) Scotland Yard provides to the Hong Kong Police Force.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Credit Unions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2019 to Question 271335, for what reasons his Department does not offer a payroll deduction service to enable employees to join a credit union; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Pincher: The Foreign & Commonwealth Office does not have a facility to allow staff to join a credit union through payroll deductions, however staff can still make arrangements to contribute to a credit union via direct debit.Financial wellbeing is a key part of pay and benefits package, and we offer a range of services to help staff build financial capability so they can make informed decisions about their finances.

Department of Health and Social Care

Nutrition

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the implementation of the guidance on Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration 2015 to 2018.

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the document entitled Guidance – Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration 2015 – 2018, published by NHS England in October 2015, how many commissioners have identified a local senior or executive champion to drive local work on nutrition and hydration and to make improvements.

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of commissioners that (a) reviewed existing service provision and (b) agreed improvement trajectories as set out in the NHS England Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration 2015 to 2018 guidance.

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to update the Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration 2015-2018 NHS England guidance.

Jo Churchill: The importance of good quality food for patients, visitor and staff is recognised both in terms of improving health and for their overall experience of services. Patients have the right to receive tasty, nutritious and free food as part of their National Health Service treatment. Data is not collected centrally on the number of local senior or executive champions to drive local work on nutrition, the number of commissioners that reviewed existing service provision or agreed improvement trajectories as set out in the guidance. In July 2018 the Healthcare Food Standards and Strategy Group started a review of the national standards for Healthcare Food for patients, staff and visitors. This work is building on the Hospital Food Panel report of 2014 and is focusing on marking out the way in which organisations need to comply with the five core standards and bringing in a wealth of tools, resources and examples of good practice to help them achieve the standards.

Sapropterin

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of whether Kuvan should be assessed through NICE's highly-specialised technology appraisal.

Jo Churchill: Decisions on whether individual medicines are suitable for assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and whether they meet the criteria for the highly specialised technologies programme, are taken through an established topic selection process.The process is overseen by NICE and includes consideration against published criteria by a topic selection panel and engagement with stakeholders. Although NHS England, NHS Improvement and the Department provide input and are part of this panel, the decision-making process is led by NICE. Kuvan for the treatment of phenylketonuria was last considered by the topic selection panel on 15 February 2019.In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for National Health Service organisations and healthcare professionals to make decisions on whether to fund Kuvan on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence. Treatment for patients with phenylketonuria who are not receiving Kuvan or for who Kuvan is not effective includes dietary protein restriction combined with dietary supplements.